Peru’s Machu Picchu is one of the most important historical and archaeological sites in the world, but due to a changing climate, the site has been facing increased risks of mudslides due to heavy rainfall in the winter and forest fires during the summer.
Now in an effort to rehabilitate and protect the iconic site, Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra has recently announced a campaign to plant 1,000,000 trees in the protected zone around the Machu Picchu sanctuary.
Reforesting the land is expected to safeguard the archaeological site and at the same time, ensure the preservation of the area which is home to vast fauna and flora native to the area.
Machu Picchu, which means “old mountain” in the Quechua dialect, is the most iconic testament of the Inca empire that ruled a large swathe of western South America for 100 years before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.
